what is understeer?

[madwilly814]

what is understeer?

[aqwkmf]

when u turn the wheel and the car doent turn far enough. over steer is when the car turns in too much

[240 2NR]

Understeer- When the front end of your car is headed for the guardrail faster than the rear

Oversteer- When the rear end of your car is headed for the guardrail faster than the front

<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'>

In a more technical sence, it's when the limit of adhesion of your front tires has been exceeded in a corner and rather than follow the intended line (neutral) they beging to slide. &nbsp;Its a pretty accurate name for the condition, if you have experienced it, the car turns less (under) than you steer and "pushes" towards the outside of the corner.

Oversteer is when your rear end rotates faster than your steer.

Neutral is neither under- or oversteer.

[tnord]

nice explanation steve...........

i will concur that both of these are pretty accurate, for a very technical description, you must request it.

[HippoSleek]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (240 2NR @ Aug. 13 2002,10:34)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Understeer- When the front end of your car is headed for the guardrail faster than the rear

Oversteer- When the rear end of your car is headed for the guardrail faster than the front</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
lol

true, true - at least until after the first 180.

[sil80]

www.turnfast.com for some good info

Understeer—This is where the car under-performs to your steering inputs. The rear tires have greater traction than the front tires. The front tires have passed their limit of adhesion and they're skidding. Since the front tires can't respond to your steering &nbsp;inputs, the car wants to continue to go straight.

http://pw1.netcom.com/~gentile/Vigor/Under.jpg

[basemies]

ever driven a stock ff honda?

[HippoSleek]

Or a stock anything. &nbsp;All cars are bulit to understeer. &nbsp;When given the choice, it's a lot safer.

[Tuck&Poke]

yea its tru must cares are built to understeer, cept some like the new m3 exibit oversteer IIRC. &nbsp;understeer is safer because usually all you have to do to correct it is let go of the gas, and its more predictable than oversteer. &nbsp;btw, w/o chaning the softness/hardness of your tires how would you tune a car to understeer. like what camber spring and damper settings would give you more understeer than oversteer in a FR car.

[CoasTek240]

ok. that's easily understanable.. but what about countersteer.. i've heard that b4.. not exactyl sure waht it is though

[SilviaDriver]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (CoasTek240 @ Aug. 14 2002,11:41)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">ok. that's easily understanable.. but what about countersteer.. i've heard that b4.. not exactyl sure waht it is though</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
countersteer is i think when..ur about to spin out u turn the steering wheel the other way to "cancel" it out and whip back around again into a straight position..correct me if im wrong..but dats wat happen to me

[BlackFox]

Understeer = curb hump with your front.
Oversteer = taking the curb in the rear.

<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>

[240 2NR]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (minime686 @ Aug. 14 2002,11:20)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">yea its tru must cares are built to understeer, cept some like the new m3 exibit oversteer IIRC. understeer is safer because usually all you have to do to correct it is let go of the gas, and its more predictable than oversteer. btw, w/o chaning the softness/hardness of your tires how would you tune a car to understeer. like what camber spring and damper settings would give you more understeer than oversteer in a FR car.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
There's plenty that the engineers have to play with. &nbsp;Sway bar thinkness, camber, toe, tire sizes, tire pressure, etc. &nbsp;Just about any adjustable part of the suspension can be used to play with your handling traits.

My guess however on the 240 would be sway bar thinkness (the rear is very wimpy compared to the front) and camber contribute most to the understeering trait.

[HippoSleek]

Mostly sway bars. &nbsp;But again, you want the natural tendancy to understeer - even on a racecar.

Countersteer is turning into the skid so that the tires will regain adhesion. &nbsp;It works for both under and oversteer.

A clever response from this topic on another board:

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Oversteer is when the passenger is scared, Understeer is when the driver is scared. </td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

[SilviaDriver]

Understeer = KaBoom! = F'd up car
Oversteer = KaBoom! = F'd up car

pretty much..dont drive too fast on turns..it helps

[ruf]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (minime686 @ Aug. 14 2002,11:20)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">cept some like the new m3 exibit oversteer IIRC.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Most reviews (written and personal) of the E46 M3 say the opposite. In stock form, it tends to push more than earlier M3's.

[Tuck&Poke]

yea sorry just read the article again and it was understeer while the earlier m3's were perfectly neutral.